Tags:
Journalism of Courage
TIM ROHAN
About 100 feet from the end of the 26.2-mile Boston Marathon,explosions shook the street and sent runners frantically racing for cover. The marathon finish line,normally a festive area of celebration and exhaustion,was suddenly like a war zone.
These runners just finished and they dont have legs now, said Roupen Bastajian,35,a state trooper and ex-Marine. There are so many people without legs8230; Theres blood everywhere. You got bones,fragments. Its disgusting.
Had Bastajian run a few strides slower,as he did in 2011,he might have been among the dozens of victims wounded in Mondays bomb blasts. Instead,he was among the runners treating other runners,a makeshift emergency medical service of exhausted athletes.
The Boston Marathon,held every year on Patriots Day,a state holiday,is usually an opportunity for the city to cheer with a collective roar. But the explosions turned an uplifting day into a nightmarish swirl of bloodied streets and torn-apart limbs as runners were toppled,children on the sidelines were maimed,and a panicked city watched its iconic athletic spectacle destroyed.
The timing of the explosions around 2:50 pm was especially devastating because they happened when a high concentration of runners in the main field were arriving at the finish line on Boylston Street. In last years Boston Marathon,for example,more than 9,100 crossed the finish line 8211; 42 per cent of all finishers 8211; in the 30 minutes before and after the time of the explosions.
This year,more than 23,000 people started the race in near-perfect conditions. Only about 17,580 finished.
Deirdre Hatfield,27,was steps away from the finish line when she heard a blast. She saw bodies flying out into the street. She saw a couple of children who appeared lifeless. She saw people without legs.
Amid the chaos,the authorities directed runners and onlookers to the area designated for family members meeting runners at the end of the race.
Some saw the explosions as clouds of white smoke. To others,they looked orange a fireball that nearly reached the top of a nearby traffic light.
Boston hospitals struggled to keep up with the flow of patients. Massachusetts General Hospital admitted 29 patients,8 of them in critical condition; several of them needed amputations,a spokesman said.
The worlds most fabled marathon
Begun in 1897,inspired by the first modern-day marathon competition in 1896 Summer Olympics,Boston Marathon is the worlds oldest annual marathon,and ranks as one of the worlds best-known road racing events. It is one of six World Marathon Majors.
The marathon is an annual event hosted by several cities in Greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts.
It is always held on Patriots Day,the third Monday of April.
Snippets
Pak Taliban deny role in bombings
Islamabad: The Pakistani Taliban,which claimed responsibility for a botched car bombing in New Yorks Times Square in 2010,Tuesday denied any role in the bombings at the Boston Marathon. TTP spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan said the Taliban believed in attacking the US and its allies but were not involved in the bombings. PTI
India puts embassy,consulate on alert
NEW DELHI: India has put its Embassy in Washington and Consulate General in New York on alert following the bombings although there have been no reports as yet of any Indian nationals being injured. Although no reports have as yet been received of injuries caused to Indian nationals,our Embassy in Washington DC and our Consulate General in New York have been placed on alert. ENS
Déjà vu: Survivor recalls 26/11
CNN reported the story of Stephanie Douglas of Virginia and her friend,marathon enthusiast Linda Claire Willits,for whom the bombings brought back memories of the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008. Douglas,waiting for Willits at Mandarin Oriental hotel when the bombs went off,told CNN,This is twice Ive been in two cities when this kind of thing has been happening, referring to Mumbai,where she was on 26/11.
Four Lions live at Boston?
BOSTON: Micro-blogging site Twitter is abuzz with the similarity between the Boston bombing and the ending of the film Four Lions,in which terrorists target the London Marathon.
Four Lions is basically the boston bombings. Thats weird and scary, said GeorgeeAndrews. PTI
